Dear friends in Christ
First, the reading for the seminar in one month — Monday, February 4, 6:15 to 7:45 pm — the first Good Books & Good Talk seminar in the series Christians Reading Greeks: We will discuss the following Books in Homer’s Iliad:
- Book I: the quarrel of Achilles
- Book VI: Hector and his family
- Book IX: the embassy to Achilles, his reasons for not fighting
- Book XVI: Patroclus goes into battle and is killed
- Book XVIII (lines 1-371 only): Achilles learns of Patroclus’ death
- Book XXII: Hector stays on battlefield and is killed by Achilles
- Book XXIV: the funeral for Hector
This is, in all, about 100 pages in English translation, and although it is jumpy, it allows us to grasp the basic story of Achilles and his anger. Participants may read any translation; our bookstore has the contemporary translation by Fagles.
The Sunday classon January 5 will be on Job chapters 38-40, on the voice of God speaking to Job from the tempest. These are amazingly rich chapters: God invites Job, “Come, gird up your loins like a man,” using the word for “man” that suggests “hero” (the same word as Job used in his first speech in chapter 3). I look forward to the class (and perhaps the weather will be a bit warmer tomorrow)! On the 5th floor at 10 a.m.
The week of January 12 we have new things:
- Sunday, January 12, Dr Robert Duvall on “Epiphany and Poetry: T. S. Eliot and Others” at 10 a.m.
- Tuesday, January 14, the Rector’s Christian Doctrine class begins, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
- Thursday, January 16, the Thursday class will resume and pick up at Job chapter 38; 12:40 to 1:20 p.m.
Peace
